CABINET OF CURIOSITY

DURHAM BRASS FESTIVAL 2012

2012-01-22T08:55:00.000-08:00

I've just been selected for a commission with Durham Brass Festival to work with an architect to create a costume installation made from paper combining the costumes of the brass band movement within an architectural structure.
Documentation on brass bands, their costumes, textiles and the bandstand doesn't emphasise how highly decorative the designs were in the Victorian era. The bandstands were very colourful and highly ornate many referenced Japonism within their design. I can only guess that the uniforms mirrored this design, but hopefully I will find out more about this.The old black and white photos don't fully convey the colour scheme and craftmanship which went into making the uniforms. This must have been considerable since the majority of a working man's wages was spent on the uniform.
It's also been interesting to discover that there were all-female brass bands. Their uniform and performance are closer to circus performance whilst male uniforms and bands are closer to the military.
Below is a previous commission from the Brass festival: Bill Morrison's 'The Miners Hymnn'.

RIVERS OF THE WORLD ON TOUR

2011-12-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

The Mulberry School for Girls in London studied the Anacostia.

Panel designed with artists Caroline Collinge and Edmond Salter.

Artwork from Rivers of the World 2011 is currently being exhibited from November 2011 through February 2012 in Washington's Yards Park – a stunning development on the Anacostia River. For directions and more information, please visit www.yardspark.org.

Rivers of the World is the Thames Festival Trust’s flagship art and education project and is delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms, and with support from HSBC Global Education Trust.

To see all the artwork produced globally through Rivers of the World this year, view this gallery.

ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION WILLESDEN GREEN ON JOTTA

2011-12-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

Cabinet of Curiosity: jotta artist contributes to lifesize advent calendar

By Millie Ross – 15.12.2011
Spatial Art Fashion & Textiles

The festive season signals a few exciting prospects, mince pies, mulled wine, and advent calendars! The Architecture Foundation and Brent Council have joined forces to create a life-size advent calendar on Willesden Green, with emerging artists and designers bringing the shop windows of the high street to life. jotta member Caroline Collinge transforms The Samaritans.

The local shops participating in the project include the jewellers, barbers, a kebab shop, a pound shop, Caribbean snack supplies, a gift shop and the local hair stylist. Day by day until Christmas, 25 local shops and businesses will play host to the creations of wildly inventive design teams who will make each shopfront into a life-sized advent adventure.
When the project was first dreamed up a month ago, the call out was placed on jotta and beyond, and submissions to contribute designs flooded in from all over the world. The chosen design teams include architects, film set designers, product designers, fashion designers, cabinet makers, art directors, graphic designers and even a film-maker.
One of that talented bunch is jotta member Caroline Collinge, who works across film, installation and performance, while also reseraching the Baroque and performance design for a PhD at London College of Fashion. Her recent solo exhibition, A Picture Unfolds, utilised origami, costume and architectural elements to recreate the fascinating story of the London A-Z, building an architectural fantasy of the city streets which the map's creator, Phyllis Pearsall, obsessively traversed.
Caroline's is also one half of creative duo Cabinet of Curiosity, with Bartlett School of Architecture graduate Edmond Salter. Together they worked with The Samaritans on Willesden Green to create a window based upon "the idea of renewal and recycling using a poem by William Shakespeare 'The Phoenix and the Turtle', with a paper phoenix as a central motif." Explains Caroline, "We created a window display which reflected some of the origins of the nativity - as we opened on the 2nd day of Christmas - in addition to reflecting the history of Willesden and the nature of the site."
Look out for Caroline's work in 2012, as she has a slew of exciting projects ahead: from Thames Festival education project, 'Rivers of the World', (which we spoke to jotta member Chloe Bonfield about recently), to production design on actress Romola Garai's forthcoming short film 'Scrubber', to costume design for virtuoso cellist Li Lu. And if that wasn't enough, Collinge will be exhibiting her paper costumes at the Royal College of Art.
The full Advent window calendar will be on show this weekend with a series of festive workshops and activities, including Caroline's paper and origami workshop B a Bird. The installations will be up until January 2012, The Samaritans shop then plans to auction the Cabinet of Curiosity paper art to raise money for their charity.

B. a Bird

2011-12-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

A paper craft workshop for all ages and abilities introducing recycling, origami and paper cut techniques to make paper bird objects.

Where: The Samaritans, 11 Walm Lane
Date: Sunday 18th December, 1pm-3.30pm
Participation: 30-40 persons maximum at any one time

WILLESDEN GREEN PART TWO

2011-12-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some further photographs of our project working with The Samaritans charity shop, Brent and the Architecture Foundation. The project used recycled objects and paper: books, origami, papier mache, collage and cut paper techniques to create objects. More pictures can be viewed on the website:
http://willesdenwindows.com/

NEW WINDOWS ON WILLESDEN GREEN PART ONE

2011-12-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

I've been working with an architect on a short commission for The Architecture Foundation to provide new windows on the high street at Willesden Green. I was very happy that we were partnered with The Samaritans charity shop at 11 Walm Lane. It's proved to be a very succesful collaboration and I have been able to incorporate paper recycling.

Here is an article about the project from The Evening Standard which mentions our commission:

Welcome to the high street that's been turned into an advent calendar

London is London and the city is buzzing. Despite everything the world and its bankers can throw at us, we continue to flourish and grow, and that counts especially for our multifaceted design industry. Willesden Green for instance - up to now, let's face it, plain and drab and boring - is hosting an exhilarating design project to revive and improve the High Road throughout December.The project, funded by the Outer London Fun Project with Brent council and The Architecture Foundation, in collaboration with Meanwhile Space and Blue Consulting, will see a flock of world-class designers transforming Willesden High Road and some of Walm Lane into a giant, urban advent calendar. Day by day from today until Christmas Day, 25 local shops and businesses will play host to the creations of wildly inventive design teams who will make each storefront into a life-sized advent window surprise.
The local shops participating in the project include the jewellers, barbers, a kebab shop, a pound shop, Caribbean snack supplies, a gift shop and the local hair stylist.
When the project was first dreamed up a month ago, submissions to contribute designs flooded in from all over the world, and the chosen design teams include architects, film set designers, product designers, fashion designers, cabinet makers, art directors, graphic designers and even a film-maker.
Many of the designers, such as Merel Karhof, Thorunn Arnadottir and Marcus Kayser, were raised in other countries but trained and base their practice here, because London is now the undisputed centre of the international design industry. A smaller number of the teams involved, such as Paper Collective, are based in Willesden itself.
"As a charity we're always keen on how the environment can be improved to help social engagement," says Sarah Ichioka, director of the Architecture Foundation, who came up with the idea for the project. "Advent calendars are all about unveiling and surprises. We really want to generate daily footfall and interest in the area by welcoming people to something exciting and festive."
The first Window on Willesden will be created by Kieren Jones, a designer, maker, researcher and self-styled professional amateur.
"The pilot 'Window' is a vacant juice bar. It will be the project HQ," says Jones. "You can call in, learn about the project, pick up the map and then take the trail to see the windows down the High Road. I'm doing a Las Vegas-style lighting display."
Monumental and fun, his window lights will illuminate passengers sitting waiting at the bus stop outside.
Next will come playwright Caroline Collinge and architect Edmond Salter, with their Cabinet of Curiosities, whose artworks will transform the window of the local charity shop on Walm Lane (leading into Willesden Green) tomorrow.
On Saturday comes Metropolitan Workshop in the Food for Thought café on Willesden High Road - and so it goes, from one festive day to the next.
The team will post pictures of the installations, by their official photographer Mike Massaro, on the website at willesdenwindows.com and there will be a focus weekend of special events on December 17 and 18, with designers taking hands-on craft workshops, local historical tours, and last, but by no means least, mince pies and mulled wine.

THAMES FESTIVAL & RIVERS OF THE WORLD

2011-11-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Wren Academy 2011

Kingsbury High School 2011

Mulberry School for Girls 2011

Bentley Wood High School 2011

Langdon School 2011

Globe Academy 2011

Earlier this year myself and Edmond Salter worked with schools to produce art work for Rivers of the World. This was exhibited along the Thames River during the Thames festival and in the OXO gallery.
We were very impressed with the pupil's work and their ability to follow a brief within a day and a half workshop.
We're going to be working with more school's next year and are looking forward to exploring unusual art techniques and making work of an even higher quality with the schools.
The project can be viewed at: http://www.riversoftheworld.org/

AnOther Magazine: My Favourite Things/Rachel Weisz

2011-10-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/1389/Rachel_Weisz

ROGUE ARTISTS STUDIOS PHOTOS

2011-10-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love watching Li Lu perform, even if I cannot be physically be there.Li Lu holds her presence even within still photos. I would love to include her within my current research programme at University of the Arts looking at Baroque forms of movement.

Photographs: Garth Williams 2011

LI LU CELLO AT ROGUE ARTISTS STUDIOS MANCHESTER

2011-10-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

I've recently started working with cellist Li Lu and glassmakers on an upcoming performance piece presenting the Bach cello suites as an audio visual live sculpture. At the moment the project is still at the development stage but I have designed a poster cover that will accompany the CD promoting the work.

Li Lu is performing a free concert Friday 7th October between 6-7pm within Rogue Artists Studios.
The studio space is also open Saturday 8th October 11-6pm and Sunday 9th October 12-5pm.

http://www.rogueartistsstudios.co.uk/

Work from the project and some of our previous work will be displayed within the studio space of glassmakers Sharon Campbell and Lauren Sagar.

http://www.lilucello.com/

THROUGH THE WARDROBE AT THE LATITUDE FESTIVAL

2011-07-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Paper costume installation 'Through the Wardrobe' in the Faraway Forest at this year's Latitude festival.

It was interesting to see the work outside of its' usual context and see how people interacted with the pieces. I'm now thinking about creating an individual costume sculpture on a much larger scale which would create a greater sense of drama.

TROVE IN MANCHESTER

2011-06-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to show some work in Manchester for Trove who are participating in a pop-up gallery based upon the Burlington club.

Preview 30th June 2011 6pm till late
Open 1st July – 31st July 2011 daily TROVE is bringing to Manchester a plan chest. Three Birmingham based artists and three Manchester based artists, plus one trickster artist who hales from both locations, have been invited to create a compact and moveable gallery space, each with their own drawer. Guests to the Club are invited to open the drawers and look inside, take the drawers fully out and sit in the TROVE space within the Burlington Fine Art’s Club.

Artists include: Caroline Collinge, Tracey Eastham, Jo Gane, Caitlin Griffiths, Craig Marchington, Paul Newman and Edward Wakefield.

At Piccadilly Place, Manchester. Directions here > http://www.piccadillyplace.co.uk/#/howtofinduspage/

For more information please visit http://theburlingtonfineartsclub.wordpress.com/about/

Image and text are courtesy of Charlie Levine.

Hidden Art

2011-03-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been working with an architect on proposals for commissions, the majority of which require visualisations of the final work or inspirations. These are never usually shown in my portfolio, where the focus is on completed projects.

1)This commission was selected for an outdoors installation, but due to limitations we encountered with the production company, we were left with 4 days in which to make 8 Victorian pieces. Sadly we also didn’t manage to get any photographs of the final installation and as the work was never returned to us, this is the only visual record of the piece.

2)A visualisation for Minnie Weisz Studioto: the potential for a billboard near the studio to be used for exhibiting artwork by graphic and typographic artists.

The billboard art commissions by Argent PLC are currently on display behind St Pancras station.

3)Victorian architecture formerly used for textiles and fashion production is used to host installations and art for an annual festival ‘Situation Critical’. This proposal is based upon a contemporary high fashion label local to the region, John Smedley and a missing crinoline from a portrait of his wife, Caroline, resonant of the loss of the textile and fashion from that region.

4)Temple Manor in Kent was a point of departure and return for the Knights Templar. Our proposal developed ideas for an installation themed around travel. This collage was a starting point for our inspirations.

East London Advertiser article: Fashion guru Betty Jackson displays her eco credentials in Bethnal Green

2011-03-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Alex Maule, 21, Imelda Maguire, 26, fashion designer Betty Jackson, Conny Seidler, 22 wearing a dress designed by Caroline Collinge from Cabinet of Curiosity.

AFTER Livia Firth made a splash at the Oscars with her ethical red carpet gown last week the east End jumped on the guilt-free bandwagon with an event at Bethnal Green’s Museum of Childhood. Fashion designer and V&A trustee Betty Jackson was among the host of eco-pioneers who crammed into the Cambridge Heath Road museum’s exhibition hall last Thursday evening for a feast of ethical fashion. Eco-journalists and green stylists were discussing the rise of “slow fashion”, which stands against the throw-away culture of buying often and cheap that has gained popularity in recent years, while the Guardian’s Ethical Living columnist Lucy Siegle, spoke about her forthcoming book, To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World? London’s ultra-cool stylist Jocelyn Whipple ran a workshop on green styling and eco-campaigners Labour Behind the Label and Love Fashion Hate Sweat Shops offered top tips on how to be stylishly sustainable.
By Victoria Huntley, News Editor, East London Advertiser, Monday, March 7, 2011.

Museum of Childhood Ethical Fashion Event

2011-03-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

I've just shown some paper costumes at the Museum of Childhood for an ethical fashion event organised by The Papered Parlour.

The skirt is made from stitched japanese paper, folded using a variation on the miura-ori fold, whilst the fan is a variation on the miura-ori fold, using cartridge paper that has also been stitched.

I plan to make another costume with this folding technique but on a larger scale, using Tyvek instead of paper.

The photographs of dance performer Conny Seidler were taken by The Papered Parlour.

Origami Folding on a Monumental Scale

2011-01-06T02:16:00.000-08:00

I spent the latter part of last year folding paper and during the research process have started to investigate increasing the scale of my work. These are pictures of one of my paper sculptures. It has been exhibited at Minnie Weisz Studio and is due to transfer to Birmingham in February, but I will have to increase the scale further for the new venue. The fold the sculpture is based on is a miura-ori fold. This was invented as a paper map fold in 1970 but has since been employed in designing airbags and satellites.

V & A Two's a Pair

2010-09-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've just made this pair of illustrated cards for a late night event at the V & A. The design is based upon my paper stencil of a phoenix, which has now sadly fallen apart, so these are the final prints.

Illumini Event 2010: Through Adversity to the Stars

2010-09-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Illumini Event

'Secret Subterranean London'

9th Sept 2010 - 15th September 2010

Open 7 days a week 11am-7pm free.
Shoreditch Town Hall

'Night Flight’ is a poetic interpretation of the Cabinet War Room’s map room made out of paper. During World War II, Bellerophon mounted on a winged horse Pegasus was adopted as the emblem of air bourne forces.

The sound is from a 1942 BBC recording. Beatrice Harrison, a leading cellist of her generation had the habit of playing her cello in the wooded garden of her cottage in Oxted, Surrey, near London. One evening in 1923 she was joined by a nightingale and was so enchanted by the sound that she persuaded Lord Reith, the director of the BBC, to broadcast the cello-nightingale duet on live radio. Accordingly on May 19, 1924 the first ever live outdoor broadcast was arranged

On May 19, 1942, three years into the Second World War, the BBC was back in the same garden planning to broadcast the nightingales (sans cello). But 197 bombers, Wellingtons and Lancasters, began flying overhead on their way to raids in Mannheim and the engineer realized a live broadcast of this event would break security. The recording went ahead anyway since the lines to the BBC were open and a two-sided record was made, the first side with the departing planes, the second with their return (eleven fewer).

Stop Motion experiment into folding.

2010-08-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

Minnie Weisz Studio animation by Thurit Kremer / Berlin with set design by Caroline Collinge.

This is an animated scale model of the interior of the Minnie Weisz Studio, Kings Cross where I am currently working on building a large scale origami structure and objects using maps, collages and folds.

A Picture Unfolds.

2010-08-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a few projects for exhibition. This includes a show in Autumn at Minnie Weisz Studio that will explore the mythology of the London A-Z and map making techniques, using the concept of 'capriccios' and origami folding. At the moment, I'm exploring how to express the body using ideas of metamorphoses that relate to the transient city and architecture.

Peter Stigter photograph of paper origami costume, Fashionclash Maastricht

2010-06-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

A photograph of my origami costume installation by Peter Stigter. Very fortunate that Fashionclash had such an eminant photographer involved in the exhibition who photographed all participants work.
I was playing around with scale and using stitched paper origami to create a floral design on the skirt piece that I combined with my paper origami dress. I'd like to add more stitched pieces to this particular piece and create a trompe l'oeile affect.

FASHIONCLASH MAASTRICHT

2010-06-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

FASHIONCLASH WINDOW DISPLAYS

I've been showing some work in Maastricht at an event called FASHIONCLASH which aims to show work that crosses disciplines related to fashion. The work is being exhibited in a large warehouse on the outskirts of the city and is a really beautiful space. It's been interesting to see the styles of work produced outside of London and it has been an opportunity to connect with other designers across Europe. The one dissapointment is that my name has been mispelt in the catalogue and publicity flyer - not good considering this is meant to be an expo. The spelling seems to be a Dutch translation of my surname: colligne.
I was also prevented from taking photographs of the dinosaur window display (shown above): the manager of the department store thought that I posed a security risk. I've read about photographers being prevented from taking street photography in London, but I hadn't realised that other European cities were being equally intolerant. Since I take inspiration from street scenes for some of my design work this is a worrying trend.
I'll post up photographs of the exhibition in a few days...

Kings Cross Stories

2010-05-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Blueprint Review May 5, 2010 by: Lucie Hepton

Artist and photographer Minnie Weisz’ most recent exhibition explores London’s Kings Cross, in collaboration with costume and set designer Caroline Collinge. The show is at Minnie Weisz’ studio, which is situated under a Victorian Arch on Pancras Road.
The work focuses on the architecture of Kings Cross, photographing the abandoned and derelict remains of Victorian buildings and in turn revealing stories from its history. The exhibition builds on Weisz’ fascination with the past, a feature of many of her recent works. Including revisiting the now demolished Culross building with an ex-resident to hear his memories. This is the first fine art exhibition for Caroline Collinge, and the first collaboration between the two artists.
Throughout the works on display there are continuous references to bones and teeth, with skeleton-like structures reflecting the carcass of Victorian Kings Cross and the memories within. Collinge explores a range of materials, including paper folding using old maps and pages from books, shaping them into costume, forms and structures using origami techniques as well as a large-scale crinoline bone. Both artists describe their collaboration as a natural meeting of vision and understanding. The derelict areas they explored could have seemed unwelcoming, but the two artists developed and produced a fantasy impression of what might have otherwise become an impersonal tour of abandoned spaces.
Each night throughout the exhibition films will be shown in the window of the Minnie Weisz gallery for the “stray dogs, passersby and streetwalkers” that roam Kings Cross. The opening night reception featured a reading by visionary writer Aidan Andrew Dun, known as the Poet of Kings Cross. He read from Vale Royal (1995), a verse poem in two cycles and a haunting narrative that seems to grasp the core of London, which he claimed took him 23 years of consideration. The poet, who had the appearance of a Rolling Stone type rock star, tapped his foot to the beat of his literature as the audience stood mesmerised with the story. It was the fitting experience for a reflective evening, and the exhibition was an appropriate tribute to the long history and bright future of Kings Cross.
The display was part of the Reveal festival, a ten day series of events and exhibitions in and around the Kings Cross area.

RIBA Forgotten Spaces.

2010-04-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Although I studied theatre design, I've rarely worked within theatre and have had better success outside of conventional theatre, using multi-media. My skills are directed towards realising performance scenarios within unexpected places. I enjoy this way of working more than working in a black box. It's exciting to incorporate everyday spaces, their history and explore expressing ideas across different disciplines.
I entered an architecture competition in partnership with an architect a month ago which involved looking at forgotten spaces within London and suggesting innovative solutions. I have just learnt that the project we submitted has been shortlisted for the main prize and will be exhibited at the National Theatre in May and June.
This particular project looked at bringing a forgotten 18th century Orangery back to life. The building sits in the middle of a 1950's council estate in Clapham. These two forms of architecture both exemplify the idealism of their time: the picturesque and modernism. We researched the origins of the Orangery and gardens as a place of entertainment, a theatrical space and a place where food was ornamentally grown.
This informed our proposal for 'Visions for Utopia': a hybrid of performance space and community garden with its roots in the 18th century and its future in the modern urban agriculture movement 'Growing Power'.

The street as theatre

2010-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

I've had two designs accepted for the Brixton scheme and have two more to finalise. It's interesting to see how detailed the final printed image will be when applied to the shutters.
These two images show my design for a print shop (created from a collage of vintage wooden letterpress) and the final mock-up of a shutter showing a design for an 'international' hairdresser's.
In undertaking this brief I've wanted to create graphical imagery that will transform the street into a form of street theatre, using the shutters as set design. I also like to create images that are timeless. This commision has been a challenge as I am having to tread a line between art and commerce: the designs are not allowed to be seen as an advertisement for the shop, but must reflect the character of the shop. The council and the shop owners select the final image to be printed. But at the same time, there has to be an artistic quality to the images I produce.
I'm looking forward to taking some photographs when the entire series is completed and hope to include people within these to give a sense of scale, context and character.

"Why Do I Estrange Myself From The World?"

2010-02-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

I went to see the new Billy Childish exhibition at the ICA this week and accidentally gatecrashed the private view due to getting the dates mixed up for another event connected to the same exhibition. To be honest, I didn't like any of the paintings in the exhibition, but I did like his books, record sleeves, film and music. Mainly it's because I've been spending a lot of time in the Medway area where his work is so deeply rooted and which he constantly references in his songs, writings and paintings. It's ironic that he is viewed as an outsider artist. Apart from not going through the formal art education system, he seems to have been readily accepted by a lot of galleries, people buy his work and the media publicise what he does. The main difference between himself and other artists is that he has always remained true to himself and not been answerable to anyone.
In terms of art work I do like, I've been taking a look at Fornasetti's collages for some inspiration as I have been asked to submit designs for a public art initiative in Brixton. This seems to be the first stage in a large scale project involving placing permanent artwork into the fabric of the street in a functional way, by using existing street signs, the pavement, wall spaces, bus shelters and street lighting. The designs I've been asked to submit will be part of an initiative to put artwork onto shop shutters on Coldharbour Lane. The Brixton scheme follows on from a similar one run in Southwark involving local artists and designers including Anthony Gormley and Zandra Rhodes. I think that Will Self and Maggie Hambling are taking part in the Brixton scheme which, should be interesting. It will be odd to step outside of my door and see my work on the street where I live.

Making as Thinking

2010-02-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

I've been attending a lot of talks given by different creative practitioners over the past month. I like to hear about how other people work and connect with people, especially since my practice crosses over between different disciplines.
At the moment I'm in a 'making' mood.
A part of me feels that this is a bit self-indulgent and old fashioned. I'm not making objects specifically to sell. On the rare occurence that I make objects with the thought of creating a salaeble product, such as my origami necklaces made from book pages, I start thinking about exagerating the form, enlarging the scale and pushing the necklaces to an extreme so that they become closer to sculptures.
I don't know many people who do make their own work, apart from crafts people, but I don't consider myself a crafts person, although I do craft objects.
In a talk last week, the ceramisist Helen Carnac expressed how she thinks of herself as a maker not a craft person.
For her making is thinking.
I can identify with that.

Scratch

2010-01-25T10:05:00.001-08:00

Empty Shop Scheme

2010-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

At the moment I'm looking for another empty shop where I can work but at the same time transform my surroundings.

Goodbye Brixton space

2010-01-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

I spent new year moving out of Brixton market where I had a temporary space. It was interesting to hear and see how people were responding to the work I was making, but the noise levels within the market (and the extreme cold) were making it counterproductive for making work. Hopefully I will get another space in Lambeth where I can develop new projects.

I had to deliver a pitch 'Venus in transit' last week for a museumaker commission. This is a project I had been working on in collaboration with a director/writer and sound artist/composer/filmaker. There were nine people on the panel which, was daunting, but being a team of three made the experience easier. It also made me realise how useful the BBC training has been in writing proposal applications and making pitches; the majority of my training at the BBC was centred around this.

At the moment I am waiting to find out whether we were successful. I'm trying to be philosophical about the possible outcome. I think we were pitching an unusual idea that had many strands to it that people would either love or hate. It's also a question of whether people thought we were being too ambitious in our ideas, although everything we suggested was fully realiseable.
It's a difficult thing waiting. I keep reading books or watching films that seem to somehow relate to our pitch. I've been reading about Angela Carter's collective work and came across a Czech film from 1970 called 'Valerie and her week of wonders'. The imagery in this film reminded me of our pitch.

Museumaker pitch.

2009-11-22T00:40:00.000-08:00

At the moment I'm having a lot of fun creating objects out of paper using stencil and origami techniques for a stop frame animation. This is for a pitch in January for the museumaker scheme. I hope it is successful - it's rare to get an opportunity to create beautifully crafted objects for performance in addition to working in such a beautiful setting. The outcome will be based upon Orleans House gallery, Strawberry Hill, Ham House and other historical sites, working with two collaborators, Jan and Simon. The thing we all share is a richness of response. The three of us have our core skills (designing/making, direction and sound) but we also have many additional skills, that sometimes makes it hard to easily categorise what it is that we exactly do. This is very useful when working on a project at this scale as we have more freedom to pursue our ideas without being so easily restricted by a small budget. But I have sometimes had problems with the range of my skills as it is sometimes hard to 'market' myself to people and find projects that will stretch my imagination to full potential.

Scratch UK Screening

2009-10-18T07:59:00.001-07:00

'Scratch' is due to be screened at the Cine Lumiere cinema, South Kensington on 10th November. It will be a public screening and tickets are available from the box office 0207 0731350.

The screening will be followed by a Q & A session with the director, Jakob Rorvik, and lead actors Viktoria Winge and Luke Treadaway.

Poodle suits

2009-09-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to submit a proposal for a scheme called Museumakers which enables 'makers' to partner museums and create a project based upon their collection. I'm applying to Orleans Gallery, in partnership with a director, to jointly create a performance and installation that will also incorporate the River Thames, Strawberry Hill and Ham House. I found this photograph of a previous owner of Orleans House with her pet poodle. Apparently she used to spin its hair into cloth that was then cut into suits for her grandsons to wear.

Scratch

2009-09-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a long wait, but 'Scratch', a film I worked on last year is due to be released. I'm looking forward to seeing it as a lot of thought went into the design, the script was very good and the performances strong. I hope it does well. It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a lot of outlets for 'art house' short films of this nature.

I've found that I collaborate best with European and international directors as they tend to have a strong visual aesthetic. Most English directors have a tendancy to concentrate on the text and prefer gritty realism. Nothing wrong with that, except it doesn't suit my style of work. I like to make the design and characters believeable and truthful within a heightened sense of reality and create another world.

The Studio

2009-08-28T22:42:00.000-07:00

I have a get in at the theatre this week, so my studio shop space will be emptied. But not for long as I will be developing my origami work for another project. The picture shows some items for the show (I am the shadowy figure in the background). It was taken by Adrian Downie, who also helped with the design of my website.

Infinite Variety

2009-08-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Just completing work on a project for The Whoopee Club which has involved the re-invention of a variety show as a stylish operatic cabaret. It is also partially a re-invention of The Whoopee Club, who wish to diversify and try out new ways of working. I don't know how the audience will respond to this work, especially their regulars. Most people who have seen the designs have found them to be very unusual and not what they expected.
At times I wish that I wasn't so ambitious as my designs take a great deal of technical planning to realise. But the end results are usually beautiful and stand the test of time, which makes the hard work worth it.

My temporary studio is in Brixton market and it has been a welcome contrast to working from home, which can sometimes make me feel isolated. It has been positive to have my work on display and talk to people about the show and what I do. I'm considering keeping the studio for longer and making it a second home.

Postscript 2011
The project with the Whoopee Club did not go well. I had to involve my trade union BECTU. I was not fully paid for the job and my contract was broken.
The Whoopee Club received numerous grants, but it seemed that the company was in financial difficulties. These complications severely impacted upon the design input. The worst aspect of this job was seeing the lack of respect paid to designers and others involved in the project.
From my own viewpoint despite signing a contract: I was not fully paid; I did not receive the budget on time; I have never been fully credited for my role (this has proved to be a blessing in some ways); I had an assistant, Scarlet Nite (who was not chosen by me, but by the Whoopee Club) crediting the designs to herself but who did not truely assist me...I could continue.
This was an example of how not to run a production.Despite this, the Clore Leadership Fund forwarded Lara Clifton to the Arts Council as someone to support. I had a meeting with one of the leaders of the Clore Leadership Fund and put forward my case. I was told to forget about it, that a lot of theatre companies operate like this...

Three projects

2009-06-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

I decided a diary of my experience and influences when creating work could be a useful way of charting my journey.
At the moment I am working on three projects simultaneously and about to start a fourth. It is an exhausting yet exhilarating experience as it lets my imagination run riot.
My favourite project is one that is based upon Helen of Troy: 'A Thing of Beauty'. This project encapsulates all of my interests in one piece of work: text, visuals, film, collage, soundscape.
I was invited onto this project by a very talented director/writer who shares a similar process to work. Communication between us has been very fluid and free. It helps that he has a strong visual sensibility and thinks in a unique way. Hopefully this is a relationship that will develop further as creating work with him is the closest I have had to an equal partnership.
In addition I am undertaking a training course in journalism (multi-media) at the BBC. Perhaps this seems an unusual undertaking for a designer to pursue, but I had originally wanted to study English and had considered journalism as a career option. I was also involved in the Royal Court Young Writers Group whilst studying design. This led my work in a whole new direction of 'writing through design', that challenges people's perceptions of a designer. I now want to bring text back into my work and undertake more writing, so the BBC course has been extremely helpful in re-igniting this initial love affair, especially for structuring and editing text.
My third project is for The Whoopee Club who have been very generous in allowing me full creative expression. I am unusual in being an outsider to this project and it can feel like I have been granted entry to a members-only club. This is sometimes difficult, especially as I am establishing relationships with people who already know and work regularly with each other. All that I can do is be honest and true, both to myself and those around me.
The fourth project is due to start in a fortnight and involves some initial filming of paper costumes and props for a festival in Italy this Novemeber. It follows on from a piece of work shown at Shunt in April with digital artists SDNA and a group of colaborators involved in sound and movement/performance. I had created origami paper costumes, which worked very well in conjuction with SDNA's insect projections and live performance. SDNA and myself share similar design influences and give each other room to express our creativity within a collective situation. Consequently, I feel that I produce my best work when working with them.